The said invention will be used in the construction industry. Wood and steel framing carpenters will gain accuracy and speed when framing wood or steel walls, floor systems, ceiling systems and roof framing systems. The current problem with the retractable steel tape measure is that the 16 inch on-center marks, usually highlighted in red on most tapes do not show the necessary location of the edges of the particular framing member. The current method involves off setting the end of the steel tape by half the thickness of a framing member. This is accomplished by driving a nail into the layout plate, so that the tape hook can be hooked on the nail at the needed distance, to have the 16 inch on-center marks align with the right edge of the framing member. At the 16 on-center marks, the carpenter draws a perpendicular line across the layout plate to indicate the right edge of a framing member. Next the carpenter places an X on the left side of the line to show that the framing member needs to be attached left of the line. If the tape hook is then removed from the nail, and hooked to the end of the layout plate, we would see the 16 inch on-center marks on the steel tape, line up with the centers of the framing members. This is how a carpenter currently lays out 16 inch or 24 inch on-center marks.